


You Can Call Me

by NobleFir



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Compliant, First Dates, M/M, author did not watch vld season 8, except for the stuff i can't remember
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2020-03-06 23:13:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18860905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NobleFir/pseuds/NobleFir
Summary: Captain Takashi Shirogane suddenly tells Curtis that ' Shiro' is just fine. And now Curtis is not fine.





	You Can Call Me

**Author's Note:**

> I've seen a lot of hate directed towards Shiro and Curtis' relationship, or just Curtis in general, and while I'm not happy how they came to be, I think they deserve a lot more love than what the fandom is giving them, and a lot less hate. 
> 
> So here's a Shiro x Curtis fic.

“ You don’t have to say that anymore”

Curtis looked up from his screen as Shiro continued with his work.

“ E-excuse me, sir?”

“ You don’t have to address me like that anymore. ‘ Captain Shirogane’, we’re friends now, Curtis.” He smiled. “ Just call me Shiro.” 

“ Sh….Shiro….” The man fumbled the word in his mouth. It was short and simple and held a casual air that Captain Shirogane, or even simply Captain didn’t. 

“ If it’s too unusual, you don’t have to start using it right away. Just wanted to let you know you could.” The ex-paladin shrugged and broke eye contact with the document in his hand to give Curtis a bright grin. “ I hope we can get to know each other better, Commander Langford.”

He gave a hesitant smile in return and turned back to the simulation he was checking for error. They sat together in the breakroom of the ATLAS.

Curtis was… he couldn’t say shocked. It wasn’t shocking rather… well. He’d never thought that Captain Shi- Shiro would invite him into friendship. Sure they had worked to stop Zarkon together, and they had begun to training together in recent months, and ok maybe they had been chatting more often at the monthly ATLAS lunch get-togethers, but… did Shiro really consider him a friend? Him, Curtis Langford, friend to the legendary Takashi Shirogane, ex-paladin of the Black Lion of Voltron, and current captain of the IGF-ATLAS? It was beyond comprehension. He was friends with a celebrity. 

The thought made his nerves tingle, and his stomach heavy. Even going into this job, he’d never expected to be close with a famous pilot, or anyone famous at all. Meeting a celebrity was inevitable in his line of work, plenty of astronauts would soon become famous for their feats, and working with the paladins of Voltron was just like that, except on a universal level. With their fame, they had brought a new era to earth. Aliens from all over the galaxy, advanced technology, and greater insight to their universe had come with the paladins. Curtis still couldn’t believe that he’d been a part of the crew who had helped liberate most of the known universe. 

Somehow, that smile Shiro sent his way with the offer of friendship jolted him even more than any of the changes he’d witnessed over the last few years. 

He scrambled to finish his work, only glancing over at Shiro ever 10 minutes. They’d never been alone together for so long before… where was everyone else? Was today some sort of holiday? A birthday Curtis had forgotten about, or hadn’t been informed of? Unlikely… or… was it?  
Had he been left out of the rest of the crews' plans? Or had something happened that caused everyone else to leave? Why was no one else coming to the breakroom?!  
“ I can’t believe you stayed so late today, Curtis. Usually, you leave pretty early, don’t you?’’

Huh?

“ Huh?”

“ You…” Shiro looked at him. “ You do know what time it is, don’t you?”

Of course, he did! Or.. did he? He hadn’t looked at his clock for a while, trying to finish his assignment without distractions. He’d even had headphones in before Shiro had walked in to pour himself a cup of coffee. And the clock in the breakroom was broken, again. It had felt like only a few hours. He’d be home a bit later than usual for sure, but… the way Shiro had worded it made him feel as though a bit was an understatement.

“ I...um… would you mind telling me?”

“ It’s 10 to midnight, Bud.” 

Ah. So Iverson wouldn’t be able to give him a ride home tonight then. Curtis let out a sigh, shutting his laptop, and rubbing his eyes. Now that he thought about, he did feel sorer than usual, after sitting for so long. Shiro laughed and grabbed the semi-fresh pot of coffee to refill Curtis’ orange mug on the table beside him. 

“ I’m about to head out for the night. Are you going to stay here by yourself?”

Here, Curtis had to make a decision. Catch a ride with his newfound celebrity friend, or stay and inevitably catch a late taxi home by himself, if there were any taxis even still out. He took a long gulp of the lukewarm black coffee, and let out a heavy breath. 

“ Would you mind doing me a favor, Captain?”

This was how he ended up hugging the waist of famous pilot Takashi Shirogane, a slightly too tight helmet strapped to his head, the wind roaring in his ears as they drove down the freshly repaved road towards the gated community of the Garrison employees. 

“ So you don’t have a car?!” Shiro shouted over the wind.

“ No!” He could drive, just like he could pilot, but he preferred to be along for the ride rather than the one with the main control. As long as he could pay gas money, people didn’t mind driving him around.

Shiro picked up speed once they got into the empty area of town, and Curtis held on tighter, eyes squeezed shut to block out the dizzying sight of the world around him. He could feel the other man’s body shake with laughter. His ears began to pound with something other than the wind.

***  
“ Thank you, again.” He said as they stopped before the door to his quarters. Shiro had insisted on walking him up to the door as if Curtis hadn’t already asked so much to be driven home at midnight. 

The captain didn’t look nearly as tired as one should be after a long work day, especially after-hours. Hadn’t he spent an ungodly amount of time trapped as a gladiator, according to tales spread around the Garrison? Perhaps he had gained greater stamina. Or maybe it was the coffee. 

“ It’s really no problem. I’ve been meaning to catch you alone for a while now, actually. You’re usually gone by the time I swing by your station. This is more of you doing me a favor than the other way around.”

Catch him alone? Curtis felt his chest tighten with nerves at that. This could be anything. Some sort of classified information, or a special mission that Curtis had been chosen to be a part of. Or it could be a private announcement of a failed mission, like how Iverson had gone about notifying people after the Kerberos incident. He stood straight, looking down at the captain with bated breath. 

Shiro looked him up and down and gave a small chuckle. 

“ At ease, Langford. This isn’t something like that. I’m not all work, you know.”

“ Yes, sir- I mean- Shiro.” Curtis deflated slightly as the tension released. “ What have you been meaning to speak to me about?”

“ Let’s have lunch together.” 

“ Well, tomorrow is the team lunch for-”

“ No,” He chuckles, and shakes his head. “ I mean, just you and I. You can pick the place, I’ll pay“ 

“ S-sir… are you asking me on a date?”

“ If you’d be so kind as to allow me to consider it as such, then I’d love to call it a date. Otherwise, it could just be a… friendly hangout. I want to spend more time with you, either way, Curtis.”

His internal engines went into overload, heating up as he gaped at the smiling captain. A date?! 

“ You can say no, Commander. I won’t be offended.” 

“ No!” He gasped, then covered his mouth. “ I don’t mean- not no to your- It’s just that this is- I mean- Wow!-” 

Shiro’s dark eyes were bright with amusement, and he laid a hand on his shoulder. 

“ It’s late. I’ll give you some time to think it over. Get some rest.” 

‘’ Thank you.” Curtis felt out of breath. Shiro gave his shoulder a light squeeze, then turned around to head to his own quarters, up on the top floor of the building. 

“ You can always find me in my office if you need me.” He called out, and Curtis nodded wordlessly before he realized the man's back was turned to him. 

“ G-Goodnight, sir!”

He glanced back at him, with a sweet smile. 

“ I’ll see you tomorrow, Curtis.”

He unlocked his door and went straight to his bed, burying his hot face into a cool pillow. Before he even had the chance to kick off his shoes, sleep had overtaken him. 

It was impossible to not dream of Takashi Shirogane that night.


End file.
